Harry Potter and the Last Horcrux
by BackInBlack-Siriusly
Summary: It's Harry's seventh year, and the search for Horcruxes has begun. Along the way, the gang finds some familiar faces and more danger than they can imagine. Canon ships, spoilers for all 6 previous books.
1. Chapter 1

_Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of JK Rowling. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended._

**Chapter One**

It was a beautiful day by any standard, but was especially nice for the end of June. The temperature was warm, but not oppressively so. The sky had that deep blue colour that one only sees on the most perfect of afternoons. The few clouds there were seemed to stay away from the sun for fear of melting away to nothing. It was this sky that a sixteen year old Harry Potter was gazing at. He was lying on his back in the grass, trying vainly to block out the bickering of his two best friends and to make some sense of recent events.

His Headmaster, Albus Dumbledore, had been murdered by Severus Snape, his former Potions Professor, one month ago. Prior to his death, Dumbledore had been teaching Harry more about Voldemort and the lengths that he'd gone to become immortal. Lord Voldemort was the root of all of Harry's troubles. He'd murdered Harry's parents when he was just a baby, before attempting to kill Harry himself. Because of the love his mother had for him, the curse rebounded on Voldemort, leaving Harry with a lightning-bolt shaped scar on his forehead. Instead of being killed though, Voldemort was reduced to less than a spirit, and spent the next 10 years possessing the bodies of small creatures to survive.

Harry had been sent to live with his aunt, uncle and cousin. They despised Harry, treating him more like slave labour than their nephew. His aunt and uncle knew Harry's parents were a witch and wizard, and were determined to make sure that Harry didn't turn out 'abnormal' like they were. They tried to stamp out his 'unnaturalness' by making live in the cupboard under the stairs for the first ten years that he lived with him. He was served meagre rations of food, while his cousin was served extra large portions of everything. He was forced to wear his cousin's old cast off clothes, which were always at least two sizes too big for him. He never received Christmas gifts. And July 31st, which was Harry's birthday, was just another day at the Dursley household, while Dudley got increasingly larger and larger piles of gifts every year.

Harry had lived like this for ten years before he got his first letter from Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. His uncle, knowing what the letter meant, immediately took it from him. This began a battle between his uncle and the school's post owls, who dutifully left more and more letters every day. Finally, after taking his family and Harry on a cross-country trip to avoid the letters, they landed in a little hut on some godforsaken island. It had been Harry's eleventh birthday, and there in that little hut, he got the greatest gift he could ever have received. Rubeus Hagrid, keeper of Keys and Grounds at Hogwarts, was sent to deliver Harry's letter, and told Harry that he was a wizard. This began Harry's immersion into the Wizarding world. He'd been introduced to Diagon Alley, Platform 9 and ¾, and the Hogwarts Express. He'd met his two best friends that year as well.

Ron Weasley was the sixth child in a family of seven. He had five older brothers and one younger sister, and always seemed to be outshone by them in one way or another. Bill, his oldest brother, had been Head Boy at Hogwarts, and was now a curse breaker for Gringotts Wizarding Bank. Charlie, the next eldest, had been Quidditch captain, and now worked with dragons in Romania. Percy was next, and he had distinguished himself by getting top marks in all his classes and becoming Head Boy. The twins, Fred and George, while not the most academically inclined members of the family, had left school early to start a very successful joke business. Ginny was an excellent student in her own right, but because she was the only girl born into the Weasley family in several generations, that brought her distinction all on its own.

Ron was one of those people with the annoying habit of never being able to see his own self worth because he was too busy trying to fit into the footsteps of those who went before him. Ron was an accomplished chess player, giving him an exceptional understanding of strategy and tactics. He was loyal to a fault, and the best friend that one could ask for. Sure, he was a bit hot-headed at times, but that was almost a given with the red hair that graced his head, along with every other member of his family.

Hermione Granger was Harry's other best friend. Neither he nor Ron liked her much at first. She was the smartest witch in their year, and was quite obvious about it, always answering every single question asked in class. But during their first year, when a mountain troll got into the school everything changed. Harry and Ron had gone to try and rescue Hermione. When they'd knocked the troll out and were discovered by their teachers, Hermione lied to save Harry and Ron from a lifetime's worth of detentions. From that day on, they were a trio and the best of friends.

They'd had many close calls with Voldemort over their school career. First year was the Philosopher's Stone. Second year, the Chamber of Secrets was opened, and Ginny Weasley was almost killed by the memory of a sixteen year old Voldemort. Fourth year was the Triwizard Tournament, which saw Voldemort being returned to a body. Fifth year, Harry and his friends battled Voldemort at the Ministry of Magic, and Harry learned of the prophecy that said that he and he alone could be the only one to kill the Dark Lord.

The whole of Harry's sixth year at Hogwarts, Dumbledore had been showing him how Voldemort had become the person that he was today. He showed Harry how the young witch Merope Gaunt, the mother of Voldemort, had tricked the wealthy and good looking Tom Riddle into marriage, and became pregnant shortly after. After discovering the truth about his wife, he left her and returned to the town they had both come from. Merope died in childbirth shortly after naming her son Tom Marvolo Riddle.

Tom Riddle had grown up in a Muggle orphanage, terrorizing the other children with the use of his magic. He'd had extraordinary control of his powers at a young age, something that was unheard of in most young wizards. Dumbledore showed how he himself had gone to the orphanage to explain to an eleven year old Riddle that he was a wizard and had been accepted to Hogwarts. Harry learned how in Riddle's sixth year, he learned of Horcruxes and how they could contain a piece of your soul, thereby ensuring a kind of immortality. He saw the memories of Riddle learning how a Horcrux was created through the murder of a human being. Harry learned that at the age of sixteen, Riddle had murdered his father, paternal grandparents, and his maternal uncle and created his first Horcruxes. And most terrifying of all, Harry learned that Voldemort had split his soul seven times in his quest to become immortal.

Harry Potter had lost more than most to Tom Riddle. He'd lost his parents and his childhood. He'd lost his mentor and a school mate as well. But the one death that hurt the most was his godfather. Sirius Black had been James Potter's best friend, and the only father figure that Harry had ever had. Sirius had been killed at the fight the previous year at the Ministry of Magic. His own cousin Bellatrix Lestrange had cast a Stunner at him, knocking him into the Veil in the Department of Mysteries. That fact that there was no body, no real closure had always nagged at Harry. With Dumbledore, there'd been a body. Harry had seen Professor Snape cast the Killing curse with his own two eyes. He knew that there was no way that Dumbledore could have survived. Sirius was a different matter. To the observer, he'd done nothing more than fall through an archway in the middle of a room.

Harry lay there in the grass trying not to think too much. His thoughts kept drifting back to the last few months and the events that had occurred. The one event that kept creeping into his mind over and over was the kiss in the common room. Ginny Weasley had always been in the background. She was his best mate's little sister. The girl who'd had a crush on Harry and couldn't string together two words into a coherent sentence when he was in the same room as she was. He had rescued Ginny from the Chamber of Secrets her first year, and slowly things began to change. Somewhere along the line, she'd gotten over her crush, and had become an important part of Harry's life.

Once again, the kiss had crept back into his thoughts. Harry had been serving a detention with Professor Snape after injuring Draco Malfoy in a fight. Gryffindor was facing Ravenclaw for the House Cup, and their Seeker and Captain was going to miss the match. Ginny had taken over the position of Seeker, and had done marvellously, catching the Snitch and winning the match. Snape hadn't let Harry leave the detention till he was sure the match was over. When Harry walked into the Gryffindor common room, the celebration was in full swing. Whether it was the emotion of the moment, or the feelings that he'd been developing for the youngest Weasley over the last few months, he would never know. All Harry knew was that as Ginny ran across the common room to hug him, he did what he'd wanted to do to for the longest time. Harry kissed Ginny.

They'd only had just a short time together, just a few weeks really, but for Harry, it was one of the best times of his life. Then Dumbledore was murdered, and life came crashing down around their ears. Harry knew that he would have to search for the Horcruxes that Voldemort had made. That was the key to finally ridding the world of his evil. He knew that with Dumbledore gone, he would become Voldemort's prime target, and that anyone close to him would immediately be in danger. He did the only thing that made sense to him. He broke up with Ginny. She knew nothing about the Prophecy or the Horcruxes, and Harry wanted to keep it that way. The less she knew about that the better as far as he was concerned. He didn't want to make her more of a target than she already was.

The pitch of Ron and Hermione's bickering had reached an annoying level. Harry sighed deeply and raised himself up on his elbows. "For the love of Merlin, could you two give me a break? You've been at it for almost an hour now. I'll bet you don't even remember what you're arguing about in the first place."

Ron and Hermione looked at each other for a moment, then burst out laughing. "You know mate, you're right. I don't remember what started this off."

Hermione tried her best to look at Ron in a reproving manner, but failed miserably. "And that Ron Weasley is why you did poorly on your History of Magic O.W.L.'s"

Just as Ron was about to make a retort to Hermione's comment, Harry silenced him with a glare. "Shut it Ron."

Ron scowled at Harry for a moment, but kept his silence. He knew as well as anyone that if he'd made the comment that had popped into his head the moment before, he and Hermione would be off and running again.

This was the last day that the trio would be spending at Privet Drive. Tomorrow morning, they were packing their belongings and heading for the Burrow. Ron's oldest brother Bill was getting married in two weeks, and the trio had promised that they would be there to help with the wedding preparations.

Harry had already packed all of his belongings. There was no love lost between he and his relatives, and he couldn't wait to get away from their questionable care. To say that Uncle Vernon had been less than pleased when he had been informed that Ron and Hermione would be staying with Harry would be quite the understatement.

They'd been at the train station when Harry had told him of their plans. Vernon had turned a shade of red that Harry had never seen before, quivering with rage, his moustache twitching and the veins in his forehead bulging out. It was Mad-Eye Moody who had politely 'explained' to Vernon Dursley in no uncertain terms that the other two 'freaks' would be staying with Harry, and that there was nothing that Dursley could do about it, and that the Order would be watching the home to make sure that there was no trouble. Uncle Vernon had grudgingly loaded the three of him in his car and took them back to number four Privet Drive.

Hermione, of course, had already begun researching everything she could about possible artefacts that had been left by the founders. Harry thought that whatever the mystery Horcrux was, it was most likely something that had belonged to Ravenclaw, since the only known relics left behind by Gryffindor were his sword and the Sorting Hat, both of which were securely located in the Headmaster's office at Hogwarts. Even as powerful as Voldemort was, Harry didn't think he would be able to make a Horcrux right under Dumbledore's nose.

For two weeks, Harry and his friends had stayed with his Aunt and Uncle. For the first time that Harry could ever remember, Aunt Petunia had seemed to care about what was going on in Harry's life. He had noticed that she seemed to hover around where ever the trio had gathered to do their research. To the casual observer, she was doing nothing more than cleaning, but Harry knew she was paying attention to what they were doing. He really wanted to ask her why she suddenly cared about what he was doing, especially since it involved the magical world that so appalled her, but whenever he would meet her eyes, she would quickly look away and leave the room. Harry would just sigh, and continue on with his research.

Finally, two days ago, Harry had managed to corner his aunt. Hermione and Ron had left for Diagon Alley to pick up a few books on the Founders from Flourish and Blott's. Harry was lying on his bed, reading yet another book about Rowena Ravenclaw, when a soft tap at his door caught his drifting attention. Petunia slowly opened the door and asked her nephew for entrance to his room.

"Come in Aunt Petunia," Harry replied warily.

Petunia Dursley looked around the room with a strained expression on her face. Over each and every section her gaze drifted were reminders of the world her sister and nephew belonged to. Moving pictures of James and Lily, and Harry and his friends were sitting on the desk along with the Marauder's Map; Hedwig and Pig's cages sat on the dresser; Harry's Firebolt sat in the corner alongside Ron's Cleansweep. Instead of Harry's trunk being at the foot of the bed, it was Hermione's. Uncle Vernon had insisted that Ron and Harry take the spare bedroom, especially after Hermione had pointed out that she could just magically enlarge Harry's bedroom without having to inconvenience the Dursley family at all. "There will be none of your 'unnatural-ness' in my house!" Vernon had nearly screamed at the top of his lungs.

Petunia slowly walked into the room and sat in the chair at Harry's desk. She looked troubled, as if she had a million questions in her mind and didn't know where to start. She glanced at Harry, and began. "So, why did you come home early? Term hadn't ended yet."

Harry sighed and explained to his aunt what had happened to Professor Dumbledore. Petunia paled at the mention of his murder. "So, he's not protecting you any longer? And that Voldemort person is after you now?"

Harry glanced at his aunt. She had a fearful look on her face, and as much as Harry wanted to be rude to her, he couldn't. While he certainly didn't like his relatives, he had no wish for them to die. They needed to be made aware of what could happen to them because of their relationship to him. "Yes, Voldemort is after me now. The protection that Mum gave me will last until my seventeenth birthday. After that, it will be gone. You and Uncle Vernon might want to plan a vacation around the end of July just to be on the safe side."

"But why is he after you? I just don't understand why he went after Lily. I never have really."

"Because of a prophecy that was made concerning him and me. I can't tell you what it said, but that's why," Harry replied.

Harry could see his aunt fighting with herself over his admission. As far as Petunia Dursley was concerned, she should know about anything that went on in her house, and Harry denying her the prophecy was a sin of major proportions.

A soft sob escaped her, which shocked Harry into speechlessness. He'd never seen his aunt express any emotion toward him other than hatred. Now, she was in his room, crying softly at the thought of the possibility of his death.

"I never wanted this for you. After Dumbledore took you away last summer, I went to the attic. I kept the letter that he'd sent with you after Lily died. I realize that I've not done the best I could raising you, but I didn't want this. You have no idea how hard it was looking at you every day, seeing Lily's eyes looking back at me."

For the first time he could remember, Harry actually wanted to comfort his aunt. He remained where he was seated though. He was afraid that if he made any move toward her, Petunia would bolt from the room, and he wouldn't hear the rest of her story. He shifted around so he was looking at her, putting his elbows on his knees as he sat on the edge of the bed.

"I was jealous of her. She was always prettier and more popular. Then she got her letter, and then there was another thing that she could do that I couldn't. I suppose I took that jealousy out on you. I apologize for that. I'm not expecting you to forgive me, but I am sorry for the way I've treated you."

Harry just nodded at her, afraid that if he opened his mouth to say anything, he'd end up screaming at her. He was angry, and justifiably so. _'She waits 'till I'm seventeen years old, and about to leave before treating me like a human being,' _he thought to himself.

"So what happens now? Are you going to have to fight this Voldemort person?"

"Yes, I'm going to have to fight him at some point. I don't know when though. Dumbledore gave me some things to do before he died, and I have to finish that first," Harry told her, wondering where this line of questioning was headed. As much as he hated research, he knew it had to be done before they could find the rest of the Horcruxes; his aunt asking questions was just preventing him from getting his work done.

Petunia looked at her lap, and Harry thought her eyes looked suspiciously bright. She removed a handkerchief from her skirt pocket and began twisting it in her hands, as if she was offended by its pristine, unlined state.

"So… so you could be hurt? I mean…"

"Yes Aunt Petunia. It wouldn't be the first time he's injured me, but more than likely, I'll be killed when I finally have to face him."

"You… you've faced him before," she whispered.

"Yeah, five times so far, including when I was a baby." Harry had a sudden idea. He'd gotten a large package from Professor McGonagall a week ago, and although he hadn't opened it yet, he knew what it was. "Would you like to see it?"

"How could I possibly…?"

"I have a Pensieve. It belonged to Professor Dumbledore. He left it to me when he-. Anyway, I can put the memories of the times I've faced Voldemort in it, and you can see it. It's like watching a movie, only you're right in the middle of everything. You can't be hurt by the battles; it's perfectly safe."

Petunia stared at Harry for a moment, fighting her instinctual hatred for all that was magic, and her curiosity of what her nephew's life had been like. She finally nodded at him, and Harry went over to his wardrobe and removed the large parcel. He unwrapped it, and opened the box, setting aside the vials of memories he'd gone over with Dumbledore last term. He noticed that there was an extra vial, and made a mental note to take a look at it later when Ron and Hermione returned.

He placed his wand at his temple and drew out a silvery strand of memory, and placed it in the Pensieve. After repeating this act three more times, he looked at his aunt. "All I need you to do is put your face in the Pensieve. I'll come in right behind you, and we can watch them together."

Surprisingly, Petunia leaned over the stone basin and was drawn into Harry's memories. He followed right behind her, and came face to face with Fluffy. Petunia shrieked and grabbed Harry's arm. He chuckled a bit and tried to get her to release her grip. "It's okay Aunt Petunia, he's just a memory, he can't hurt you."

"Wh- where are we?"

"This is Hogwarts at the end of my first year."

They watched Harry's memories one by one, with Harry providing a running commentary. When they got to the cemetery, Petunia nearly fainted when she saw her sister emerge from the end of Voldemort's wand and speak to her son. "How is that possible," she questioned.

"It's called Priori Incantatem. My wand and Voldemort's are brothers. That's what happens when they are used against each other. One of the wands will start showing the last spells that they've cast."

The battle at the Ministry of Magic suddenly swam before their eyes. Harry had put the entire memory in the Pensieve, from the moment that he, Ron, Hermione, Ginny, Neville and Luna arrived, to the end when Voldemort Apparated away with Bellatrix Lestrange. Harry turned away during Sirius' battle with Bellatrix. He'd watched his godfather fall over and over again in his nightmares, and had no wish to see it again.

Harry and his aunt left the Pensieve and emerged back into his bedroom. His aunt was crying silently, her face shining with tears. She hesitantly reached out and grasped Harry's hand. "I'm so sorry," she whispered. "I had no idea you'd gone through all of that."

"Well you couldn't know, could you? You never bothered to ask, and I certainly couldn't tell you since it involved magic."

Petunia hung her head at the reproving tone in his voice and took her hand away. She composed herself, and raised her head to look Harry in the eye. "So what are your plans now?"

"We're leaving in a few days. Ron's oldest brother is getting married, so we're going back to his house. After that, I'd like to go to my mum and dad's old house, and maybe visit their graves."

"Will you be coming back? I know you're of age in your world, but…"

"No. Once I leave, I'll be out of your hair for good. Like I said, the protection will be gone by then, so it wouldn't do me any good to stay here any longer."

"I know I have no right to ask this, but could you maybe get in touch every so often and let me know how you're doing?"

For the second time in almost three hours, Harry was stunned into silence. Of all the things that he could've pictured happening to him that day, his aunt asking him to keep in touch after he'd left was not even on the list of possible occurrences.

"Um, sure Aunt Petunia. I guess I can do that. I'll have to use Hedwig though. We won't be anywhere where I'll be able to use Muggle post."

"That's fine Harry." She stared at him a moment longer then put her handkerchief back in her pocket and stood. "I'm going to go and get dinner started." She started towards the door then paused and turned. "Thank you for sharing your memories with me. I'm sure that Lily would be proud of you." She silently left the room, closing the door behind her.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o

The morning of June thirtieth was warm and sunny. Harry blinked a couple of times to wake himself, his dreams receding in the onslaught of sunshine making its way into the room. He grabbed his glasses off the table at his bedside, and looked at the calendar he'd stuck to the wall the trio's first night at Privet Drive. A grin spread across his face as he realized that today was his last day under the roof of Vernon Dursley. A look at the clock told him it was nine AM, long past time for him to be awake. He wanted away from Little Whinging as soon as possible.

"Oi! Ron! Get up you lazy git, we need to go," he said as he poked the tall, lanky form of his best friend.

"Gerroff Harry," Ron mumbled from under the covers.

Harry poked Ron a few more times, eliciting only mumbled responses from the red head. _'All right mate, you asked for it,'_ Harry thought to himself.

"Ron! Spider!"

Ron immediately began waving his arms around and kicking his legs, which did nothing more than tangle him in the bedclothes further. A solid thump meant that Ron had wiggled himself right out of bed trying to avoid the 'spider'. Harry howled with laughter as Ron tried to work his way out of the blankets. Hermione charged into the room, wand drawn, looking for the cause of all the noise. "Decided it was time for Ron to wake up, did you Harry?"

Harry smirked at her, then looked at Ron who had finally managed to get his head and an arm free from the blankets. "Yeah. It's time to go," he said, pointing at the calendar.

Ron sat up and scowled at Harry. "Mate, that wasn't funny. Don't think I won't get you back for that."

After extricating Ron from his blankets, the trio packed their belongings. Hermione of course was the first one finished, since she'd packed the night before. She helped Ron and Harry, chastising them all the while for not being more organized. Two hours later, they had packed and left the rooms in the pristine condition that they'd been in when they'd arrived. Harry made one more sweep of the upstairs, being sure to check under the floorboard in his bedroom for any of his belongings.

As they finished lugging trunks and owl cages down the stairs, Aunt Petunia emerged from the kitchen. Harry had told Ron and Hermione about his strange conversation with his aunt and both had been wary of the woman ever since. "She could've been put under an Imperius or something, mate," Ron had pointed out.

Petunia looked at the three of them with an unreadable expression on her face. "So, you're leaving then?"

Harry nodded at his aunt. "Thank you for letting Ron and Hermione stay with me Aunt Petunia. I really appreciate it."

Petunia flushed slightly, remembering the tantrum her husband had thrown. "You're very welcome. It was nice to meet your friends."

"Well, I guess we'll be going then."

Petunia walked slowly toward Harry. _'Hm, I'm taller than she is now. I hadn't noticed 'til now.' _She looked at Harry for a moment, then gingerly pulled him down for a hug. "Take care of yourself, and don't forget to let me know how you're doing."

Harry awkwardly hugged his aunt, glancing at Hermione in alarm. She just raised an eyebrow at him and shrugged her shoulders. Petunia released him, and walked back into the kitchen, shutting the door behind her.

Harry shook his head and grabbed his belongings. "Let's get out of here."


	2. Chapter 2

_Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of JK Rowling. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended._

**Chapter Two**

The entire bottom floor of The Burrow was littered with wedding debris; fabric samples, magazines with various hairstyles and wedding gowns, flowers, ribbons, and candles occupied every bit of empty space to be found. Mrs. Weasley was almost at her wits end. She certainly wasn't used to her home looking like this, and kept muttering the date of the wedding to herself, in the attempt to remind herself that things would be back to normal soon.

As if anyone could forget the day of the wedding. Fleur had transfigured a blanket into a wall-sized calendar, complete with a colour-coded schedule of fittings, meetings and rehearsals. Ginny had already been to three dress fittings in the last week. Fleur was torn between two different bridesmaid dresses, and just couldn't decide which one she liked better. Since her sister Gabrielle was still attending school, Ginny got to be the dress guinea pig. Both were made of golden fabric, and while both were beautiful, one was a bit low cut for Mrs. Weasley's taste.

Harry had been at the Burrow for just a few days, and for the first time, he was wishing he were anywhere but there. If the wedding ruckus wasn't enough, Harry was crushed by the reception he'd gotten upon arriving. Molly Weasley, as always, had welcomed him with open arms, as did the rest of the family. Ginny, however, did not. She was happy enough to see Ron of course, and Hermione too, but when it came time for her to greet Harry, she nodded coolly at him, and went up the stairs to her room. Hermione glared at Harry, and followed Ginny. Ron gave him a sympathetic shrug and helped him get his trunk up the stairs.

Harry knew in the back of his mind that Ginny would be angry with him. After all, she wasn't some shrinking violet, willing to be hidden away for her safety. She was Ginny Weasley, the girl who'd been possessed by Voldemort for a year and had survived; the girl who told Harry in no uncertain terms that she would be going with him to the Department of Mysteries to help rescue Sirius; definitely not the type of girl one would shunt away for safety's sake. She was one of the strongest people Harry knew.

He just didn't want her to get hurt, or worse yet, killed. When Harry James Potter looked back on the people in his life, it seemed that the ones he loved the most were the ones who were taken from him by Voldemort, and he didn't want Ginny to be included in that category. Hence the break up at the end of term. It's not that he doubted Ginny's ability to defend herself; he doubted Voldemort's ability to leave her alone. Harry wouldn't have been surprised to find out that Voldemort already knew about Ginny from Snape, and in his mind, all the ammunition to bring him down was wrapped up in a petite package topped off by long red hair and freckles.

The more he thought about Ginny's greeting, the more irritated he became. No, he hadn't expected her to fly into his arms and hug him, but she could've at least said 'Hello Harry, nice to see you,' or something of that nature. A cold shoulder from Ginny was pretty much sub-arctic in temperature, and he didn't like the feeling.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o

The third day of July found Harry and Ron de-gnoming the garden in the hot summer sun. Harry had wondered why Mrs. Weasley had them working on this project today; there were still nine days before the wedding, and he knew from previous experience that the ugly little garden gnomes would find their way back into the Burrow's gardens long before the day of the wedding.

They'd been at it for about two hours when Hermione came out of the house bearing a pitcher of ice cold pumpkin juice and some glasses. Ron had seen her walking toward them and a slow grin crossed his face.

"Hermione, you're the best."

She blushed faintly, and set the glasses on the garden wall. After pouring drinks for both boys, she motioned for them to join her in the shade of an old elm tree. "Are you done out here yet? Mrs. Weasley wanted the two of you to get the boxes out of Fred and George's old room and take the up to the attic." Ron grimaced as he gulped down his pumpkin juice, and Harry just chuckled. The boxes mostly contained old prototypes for the twins joke shop. While the items in the boxes most likely weren't lethal, there could be some interesting accidents if the boxes were dropped while on their way to the attic. Harry wouldn't have put it past the twins to make sure the boxes were charmed so that the carrier would drop them and set off whatever was inside.

Hermione gave Harry an appraising look. "So, have you talked to Ginny at all since we've gotten here?"

Harry sighed internally. He knew that Hermione had been dying to discuss the whole situation since she'd found out that he'd broken up with Ginny at the funeral. Uncharacteristically, she'd not broached the topic yet, and Harry had been waiting for her to come down on him with a vengeance.

"No, we haven't talked. She won't stay in a room with me for more than two seconds. She glares, and then leaves. I get the feeling that she really doesn't want to speak to me," he said ruefully.

Ron snorted and rolled his eyes. "You're lucky she's leaving the room, otherwise I think we'd be removing a Bat-Bogey hex from you."

"If I'd remove it," Hermione stated with a huff. "You'd deserve it, you know. I'm surprised she hasn't gotten you yet, underage magic or not."

Harry frowned at his bushy haired friend. "Hermione, you know why I broke up with her. I can't have her getting hurt. It would kill me. If we're not together, she's safe, and I can do what I have to do."

Ron looked at Harry for a moment, squinting into the sun. "Mate, I want to keep her as safe as you do, but do you honestly think that she's better off without you? I mean, yeah, she won't be with us, but do you think You-Know-Who is gonna leave my family alone? Not only have the lot of us shown that we're a bunch of blood traitors, we've publicly sided with you and Dumbledore"

Hermione looked at Ron in surprise. "I thought for sure you'd be in agreement with Harry on this. That was almost…"

"Grown up? Mature even," Ron said with a grin. "I might be a bit thick, but even I can see the big picture here." He looked at Harry again. "Harry, she made you happy, that much was obvious. And it's been a long time since I've seen you that happy. I have to be realistic about all of this. Except for The Git, my whole family is involved in this war. It's unlikely that we're going to come out of this without losing one of us. I mean, look at Mum's clock. According to it, we've all been in 'Mortal Peril' for a while now, Ginny included. Her hand didn't move to there when you started dating, it was already there."

Harry pulled his knees up to his chest. He knew that Ron had a valid point, but his mind was warring with his heart. It was true that Ginny had made him happy; happier that he'd been in a long time as a matter of fact. His heart didn't want to give that up. His head told him that she'd be in danger if she were with him, and no amount happiness was worth Ginny's life.

Ron and Hermione watched as Harry battled with himself. Hermione's mind was racing with all the arguments that she could supply as to why Harry and Ginny belonged together, but Ron trumped every argument that she could come up with. "Harry, didn't Dumbledore tell you that the power you had was love? Shouldn't you grab onto that while you've got it?"

Hermione gave Ron a dazzling smile and pulled him into her arms. "Well done, Ron," she whispered into his ear, causing his grin to widen and his blush to deepen.

Harry's head had snapped up at Ron's statement. He looked as if someone had punched him in the gut. "Ron, she's your sister. Don't you want her to be safe? She can't be safe with me, you know that!"

"Mate, I know that you're worried about her. Ginny can take care of herself though."

"Ron's right Harry. You've got to let her make the decision to be with you. She knows the risks and the danger; we all do. She has the right to make that choice, and you've made it for her instead."

Harry's shoulders slumped down in defeat. He knew that his friends were right. He just couldn't bring himself to admit it though. His heart ached at the thought of anything happening to Ginny. "What if we're attacked or something though, and I can't protect her? Who's to blame if something like that happens? Me, that's who. It will be my fault, and I can't live with that."

"Harry, it wouldn't be anyone's fault except Voldemort, and you know that. It's been his fault all along. Every death has been his fault and no one else." Hermione was becoming more agitated. Ron put a calming hand on her shoulder.

"Harry, you'd rather die than anything happen to any of us. We all know that. But what you've not gotten through your head is that we'd- me, Hermione and my family- would rather die than have anything happen to you. Not because of the bloody prophecy, but because you're our friend."

Harry got up and started walking toward the pond. He had never been one to show much emotion, and the conversation had taken a turn that scared him. He was close to losing his iron grip on his emotions, and he couldn't do that in front of his friends. The only person to really see him like that had been Ginny, and he was fairly certain that she wouldn't want to talk to him right now. He let his feet lead him on, not really paying attention to where he was going.

He passed the pond, and walked slowly toward the small orchard at the back of the Weasley's property. His mind was so full of thoughts, that at first he didn't hear the voice that called to him.

"You might want to watch where you're going. You're about to run into a tree."

Harry jerked his head up and narrowly avoided the apple tree he'd been headed for. He hadn't heard her voice in almost a month, and all it did at this point in time was make the monster in his chest whimper in pain. "Hey Gin," he mumbled without even looking up.

She was sitting in one of the apple trees, a book in her lap. Her hair had been plaited, and the braid was hanging over her shoulder. She had on a purple 'Weird Sisters' t-shirt and shorts. She regarded him coolly for a moment, closed her book, then jumped down from the low branch she'd been sitting on.

"I'm going to hate myself for asking this, but what's wrong? You look like someone just kicked you."

Harry bristled at her comment. Since when did she act like this? _'Since you broke up with her, you prat.'_

"I'm fine."

Ginny rolled her eyes at him. "And there it is, the patented Harry Potter catch-all answer. 'I'm fine.' No you're not fine. I've watched you long enough to be able to read you like a book. I know there's something wrong."

"Okay, I'm not fine. I've just had Ron and Hermione telling me what a complete idiot I am for breaking up with you. Happy now?"

Ginny was momentarily stunned. She'd expected Hermione to argue with Harry on her behalf, but not Ron. She chewed on her bottom lip as she digested this information. Harry watched her, wondering if he should try to take her wand from her now, or just wait for the hex to come.

"Well, they're right you know," she finally said. "You didn't even give me the choice to worry about my own safety. You arbitrarily decided for the both of us. You know I can take care of myself."

"I know that Gin, believe me I know. I just couldn't live with myself if you got hurt. People have died because they're close to me. I don't want that to happen to you to!" Harry had started pacing. His temper was quickly getting the better of him, but he just couldn't keep it in any longer. The stress of the last few weeks had finally caught up, and he was ready to explode.

"No one died because they were close to you. The died because of Voldemort or one of his lackeys. Never because of you," she yelled right back at him. If he was looking for a fight, he'd picked the perfect person to have one with. Ginny had been waiting for this confrontation since the three of them had arrived earlier in the week.

"Yes they did Gin! Sure, Voldemort is involved, but don't you see? If they hadn't known me, they wouldn't have been such targets! My parents, Sirius, and now Dumbledore. If none of them had known me, they'd still be here."

"You don't know that! You're living your life based on a bunch of maybes. Sure, your parents might be alive if they'd never had you, but what would their lives be like? Sirius might be alive, but you don't know that. Same for Dumbledore. They were all involved in the first war. They all could've been killed at any time!" Her hair had started to come loose from its braid, and her face was flushed in anger. Harry thought she was beautiful, but he wasn't going to be distracted.

"Don't you think your parents were happy to have you in their lives, even if it was for just a short time? Don't you think that Sirius was happy to be there for you? Bloody hell, he broke out of Azkaban because you were in danger! And Dumbledore was the closest thing you could have as a grandfather. Don't you think that they were all happy that they'd gotten to know you, for whatever time they'd been given?"

"That may be, but the fact still remains that they're all dead, and I don't want that to happen to you too!" Harry grabbed Ginny by her shoulders and his voice dropped to a whisper. "I love you Gin, and I couldn't go on if you died, don't you understand?"

Tears filled her eyes as she stared at him. He'd never told her he loved her before. She knew that he cared for her, but had no idea how deeply his feelings ran. Now she knew, and the pain in his eyes was breaking her heart. A sob escaped her lips, and he let go of her in shock. She took a few steps backward, then turned and ran for the house.

Harry swore and punched the nearest tree. He hadn't wanted to tell Ginny that he loved her, but his emotions had gotten the best of him once again. _'Bloody hell, I've screwed this all up but good.'_ He sank to the ground and leaned against the tree, dropping his head in his hands.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o

Two days later, nothing had been resolved with Ginny. She'd gone back to avoiding him as much as possible, and Harry was almost grateful for it. The only problem was that the tension between the two was palpable, like a fog rolling across the countryside.

Saturday found Harry, Ron and Hermione enjoying a rare break from all of the wedding madness. They were currently ensconced in Ron's room, carefully going over the notes Hermione had made from all of their research.

"Okay, lets start at the top once again. The Horcruxes are the cup, the ring, the locket, the diary, the snake, something of either Ravenclaw or Gryffindor, and Voldemort himself. The ring and the diary have been destroyed. We also know that the locket you and Dumbledore found was a fake, and that the real locket was taken by someone with the initials R.A.B."

Harry took off his glasses and rubbed his eyes. He was starting to get a headache, and re-hashing everything that they knew was a sure way to make it worse. "Yes, that's what we know so far."

"Ron, have you found any mention of Hufflepuff's cup in those books I gave you?"

"No 'Mione. Only that the last known owner was Hepzibah Smith. There's no mention anywhere of what happened to the cup after her death."

"Hermione, are there old student lists for Hogwarts that we can look at? I mean, I don't think this R.A.B. person would've been anyone famous. And most likely, he would've got to Hogwarts at some point, even if he didn't finish school."

"There may be some old student lists in the library at school Harry. I can owl Professor McGonagall and see if she might let me look at them soon. I'll just have to figure out a reason that I need to see them."

Just then, an scream echoed up the stairwell from the kitchen. The trio immediately grabbed their wands and went running, thundering down the stairs as they went. They were met by a grim-faced Ginny on the third landing. Harry gave her a weak grin, and gestured for her to follow them.

The sight that met their eyes at the bottom of the stairs made the four of them stop in their tracks. Mrs. Weasley was sobbing her heart out, clutching the stiff form of her third son to her in a crushing hug. Percy looked as if the air was slowly being squeezed out of him.

He'd been estranged from the family since the beginning of Harry's fifth year when the then Minister for Magic, Cornelius Fudge, had refused to believe that Voldemort had returned. Percy had gone so far as to write a letter to Ron, cautioning him that Harry was unbalanced and likely to snap and could be a danger to the youngest Weasley son. Once Harry had been proven right by the appearance of Voldemort in the Ministry in May, Fudge had resigned his office. Percy however had yet to make amends with his family. He'd accompanied the current Minister, Rufus Scrimgeour to the Weasley home over the Christmas holidays, but that was only a ruse so the Minister would be able to proposition Harry to become the Minister's poster boy in the fight against Voldemort.

Hermione quietly went to the fireplace and placed Floo calls to Mr. Weasley and the twins. Bill and Fleur were standing in the doorway to the living room, their arms around each other. Bill looked angry, and Fleur was obviously trying to restrain him.

Percy had finally hugged his mother back, and was now hanging on as if his life depended on it. The fireplace roared to life, and Mr. Weasley and the twins emerged taking in the scene in front of them.

"Oh Percy, I'm so glad you've come home," sobbed Mrs. Weasley.

Mr. Weasley stared at his third oldest child. He didn't really trust Percy, and with good reason. "What are you doing here?"

"Arthur! He's finally come home to us, can't you just…"

"No Molly, I can't. I want to know why he's come home," Mr. Weasley stated firmly with a hint of steel in his voice.

The rest of the assembled Weasleys, Harry and Hermione looked at Mr. Weasley with shock apparent on their faces. Arthur Weasley was known as a kind, easy going man, who had a strange affection for all things Muggle. The hardness on his face, and the tone of his voice immediately left no doubt in anyone's mind that despite his reputation, Arthur Weasley was not a person to mess with.

"Our son couldn't be bothered to come and see me in the hospital when I'd been attacked. He couldn't be bothered to visit his brothers and sister when they've been injured in the recent past either. He couldn't' even be bothered to come to his own brother's wedding. And I don't recall ever hearing an apology from him either. He's caused us enough pain in the last few years. I'm not going to let him come waltzing in without some sort of explanation."

Percy blushed furiously beneath his horn-rimmed glasses, but stood his ground. He pulled himself to his full height, and held his head high. "There's a young wizard who works in my office. He's been there for a few months now, and a nicer bloke you'll never find. He, his wife and small child had all been living with his parents until they were able to buy a home of their own. He received an urgent message at work yesterday that said that he needed to go home. I went with him, in the event that he needed help." Here, Percy shuddered and tried to keep his emotions under control so he could finish.

"Mother, Father… I've never seen such destruction. When we arrived, the Dark Mark was over his parents house. We went inside, and the whole place was torn up. There was blood everywhere. His parents, wife and child had all been tortured and then killed." Percy gulped, and the tears welled up in his eyes. He'd never seen anything like that, and never wanted to again. He knew that the sight of that family would haunt his dreams for many nights to come.

"I kept thinking, what if that would have been me? What if I'd gotten the message? What if it had been the Burrow with the Dark Mark over it? What if I had walked in here only to find all of you dead?"

At this, Percy completely broke down. He sank down onto the bench where he'd had so many meals throughout his life, and sobbed. Molly Weasley, who had tears of her own streaming down her face, went to her son's side, embraced him and whispered small comforts into his hair. Arthur Weasley's face lost some of its hardness as he realized that his third eldest son had been touched by the war that he and his wife had tried so vainly to keep away from their children. Fred, George, Ron, Ginny, Hermione and Harry all looked at one another. By silent communication, they came to the mutual agreement that for the time being, Percy was off limits to all forms of retribution.

Percy regained some control and pulled away from his mother. He stood up and faced his parents. "I'm so sorry for all I've done. I let my pride and my ambition get in the way of what is truly important. I should have apologized when You-Know-Who showed up at the Ministry. It was so hard to do that though. I had been so sure that I was right, and the Ministry was right, and that Dumbledore was two cans short of a picnic. But then there He was, in the middle of the Atrium at the Ministry. I knew I needed to apologize, but the longer I put it off, the more difficult actually doing it became. Mum, Dad? Please forgive me."

With a sob, Mrs. Weasley launched herself at her son and began to hug the life out of him. Mr. Weasley walked over and clapped Percy on his shoulder. "We forgive you son. Welcome home."

After some gentle prodding from her husband and some gasping from her son, Mrs. Weasley released her son. Percy turned to face the rest of the Weasleys, Harry and Hermione. "I know I'm going to get pranked. I'll take it, I deserve it. Harry, I wanted to apologize to you especially. I believed, along with the majority of the population the tripe that the Daily Prophet was printing about you. I'd known you for three years before that, so I should've known that none of it was true. I'm truly sorry Harry for all that I've done to you."

Harry looked at Percy for a moment, then offered his hand. Percy shook Harry's hand gratefully, knowing that if Harry could forgive him, the pranking he would have to endure from his siblings probably wouldn't be quite as bad.

Ron looked at Harry in amazement. "How can you forgive him after all of the rubbish he said about you?"

"I'm willing to forgive him because he deserves it. I'm not going to forget it right away though. He'll still need to show me that he's on our side again."

Ron mulled this over for a moment, then extended his hand to his older brother. "That sounds good to me. Just remember Perce- your forgiven, but all is not forgotten just yet."

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o

Deep in the bowels of the Ministry of Magic, in a room with an archway in the Department of Mysteries, a slight breeze started blowing.

* * *

_Author's notes: Here's chapter two :) I want to thank those of you who've reviewed so far, and hope that this chapter is worth your wait._


	3. Chapter 3

_Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of JK Rowling. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended._

**Chapter Three**

_Harry looked around. He knew this room; it was a rectangular shaped room, some twenty feet deep. Stone benches lined the wall, and a raised dais was in the centre of the room. Upon this dais was a stone archway. A tattered veil moved slightly in a nonexistent breeze._

_He was standing in the doorway at the top of the room. The ghostly shapes of Bellatrix Lestrange and Sirius battled furiously in the middle of the room. The final spell was cast, and Sirius arched gracefully backward toward the veil. There was something different this time though. Instead of the shocked look of surprise that Harry knew should've been there, Sirius was staring directly into his eyes, imploring him to listen._

_Whatever it was that Sirius was trying to say to him, Harry couldn't hear him. He quickly moved down the stairs, closing in on the archway and Sirius' falling body. He could see his godfather's mouth moving, and could vaguely hear his voice, but he couldn't make out what he was saying._

"Sirius! No," _Harry screamed, but as slow as it was, the momentum couldn't be stopped, and Sirius went through the curtain. Harry charged down the rest of the stairs, heading straight for the veil that had taken his godfather from him. Just as he reached the dais, he went flying backward, as if he'd hit an invisible wall. The ragged black curtain started blowing around violently, and the voices coming from the archway had risen to an almost unbearable level. _"Harry..." "...needs you..." "...losing..."

Harry woke with a start, his breath coming in pants. He groped for his glasses, and noted that the clock next to his bed said 4 AM. He sat up, slowly getting his breathing under control, and reflected on the dream that had interrupted his sleep. _'I haven't had a nightmare about Sirius in a while. Wonder what brought that on? It wasn't like my normal nightmares though. My scar isn't bothering me either.'_

He grabbed some parchment and a quill and wrote down everything he could remember from the dream. When he'd finished, he slowly put the quill down and re-read all the details from his dream. His first instinct was to go to Dumbledore. With a jolt, he remembered that he couldn't do that. His second instinct was to tell Ginny about it, but that wasn't an option either. He ran a hand through his messy hair, and groaned in frustration. His eyes drifted over the room, not really focusing on anything. He glanced at his parent's wedding photo that was sitting on the small table next to his bed. Sirius, his mum and dad were all smiling and waving at the photographer. _'Wonder who took that picture?'_ Then, it came to him. _'Moony.'_

His dad's other best friend- Remus Lupin, otherwise known as Moony. He'd been Harry's Defence Against the Dark Arts professor in Harry's third year, until it Snape had made it public knowledge that Lupin was a werewolf. He was also Sirius' best friend, and a member of the Marauders. _'Who better to talk to?'_

Harry quickly wrote a letter to Professor Lupin, and added the parchment that had the details of his dream. Hedwig, who had just gotten in from hunting was settling herself down in her cage, with her dinner of a small mouse. She gave Harry a baleful look as he walked toward her with the letter for his old professor.

"It's okay girl, there's no rush. Eat your mouse first, then take this to Lupin for me," he said as he tied the letter to her leg. She gave him a hoot and nipped at his finger before eating her mouse.

OoOoOoOo

It was quiet and calm on the morning of the twelfth. The light reflected off of the dew in the garden, making everything sparkle with an almost ethereal light. The birds were singing, taking off from their nests in search of their breakfasts, and chattering with each other as if they didn't have a care in the world.

Inside however, pandemonium reigned. Mrs. Weasley had waken the whole house at 6 AM, insisting that everyone make their way to the kitchen to have breakfast. She was like a general in charge of a small army, issuing orders, dishing out breakfast rations, and organizing everyone's day for them. Harry and Ron stumbled down the stairs, bleary-eyed and cursing the person or persons who first developed the idea of weddings. Bill, Fleur, Hermione, Ginny and Mr. Weasley were already seated at the table, laughing and talking. Fred and George were due to show up at nine, and Charlie would be arriving at ten.

"Why did we have to get up so early? The wedding doesn't start until three," Ron grumbled, as he shovelled scrambled eggs onto his plate.

His mother turned on him, brandishing her spatula. "Because we have a million things to do before then Ronald. Now, you will eat your breakfast and then get dressed. I want you, Harry and the twins to get all the chairs that were delivered last night, and get them set up in the garden." She turned back to the stove to get the last of the bacon rashers and place them on the platter.

"Yes Mum."

Harry looked around the table, taking in the chaos that was breakfast at the Burrow. Bill's scars had healed as best they could from Greyback's attack a month ago. The scars were still twisted and quite red, but instead of disfiguring Bill's face, they gave him an air of mystery and danger. Fleur doted on him, making sure his plate was full before tending to her own. The two of them spent most of breakfast staring at each other, and blushing.

Hermione and Ginny sat next to each other, quietly discussing their itinerary for the day. Harry knew from the wall calendar that the girls had an appointment at noon to get their hair done for the wedding. Ron had declared them 'barking mad' for getting it done so early. Hermione had given him a withering glare before following Ginny and Fleur up the stairs.

Mr. Weasley was reading The Daily Prophet. Harry could see the headlines on the front. There had been more Death Eater attacks in Warminster and Trowbridge. He could see the photograph on the front page, with the Dark Mark moving luridly over the homes of the poor souls who'd been killed. He glanced over at Ginny, who was staring at him. She quickly looked back down at her breakfast, but Harry could see the faint blush that had spread across her cheeks.

A rustle of sound alerted him to Hedwig's arrival. She was perched in the window sill, above the kitchen sink. Harry quickly rose, and went over to her, taking the letter from her leg. She took the offered bits of bacon, nipped Harry's finger affectionately, and took off, heading for Ron's bedroom window.

Harry opened the letter, ignoring the looks that Hermione and Ron were giving him.

_Harry,  
We need to talk as soon as possible. Your dream has raised some very interesting questions.  
I will see you at the wedding this afternoon.  
Remus_

Harry frowned at the parchment in his hand. What does he mean, interesting questions? He folded up the letter, putting it in his back pocket. He met the eyes of his best friends, and shook his head, indicating that it was nothing to worry about. Both Ron and Hermione visibly relaxed and continued with the conversations they were involved in. Harry cleared his plate, placed it next to the sink, and went upstairs to get his trainers on and get to work.

By the time Charlie arrived at ten, all the chairs had been set up, and the men were getting ready to set up the tents that had arrived the hour before. Fred and George had brought the tents with them when they had arrived. Work stopped as Charlie's family greeted him. The young dragon keeper had a few new burns to show off, and a new tattoo that he made the others promise not to tell their mother about.

"I'm home for good for right now," Charlie announced to the group surrounding him. "I reckon I'm needed more at here than I am at the reserve. I'm staying until the war is over."

Mr. Weasley clapped a hand on his son's shoulder, making him wince slightly. "Your mum will be happy to hear that Charlie. You know how she gets, worrying about you lot," he said, as his eyes rested on each of his sons. "You're included in that worrying too, Harry. You're as good as one of our own."

Harry looked at the ground and muttered "Thanks Mr. Weasley." He knew that the Weasleys considered him family, and he was touched by it. He watched the interaction between the brothers; Charlie was currently trying to wrestle Ron down to the ground and scrub his head with his knuckles. Ron was putting up a surprisingly good fight, considering the bulk Charlie had. Ron was a good foot taller than his older brother though, and was amused by this fact. Fred and George were trying to charm Charlie's shirt to be see through, ensuring that their mother would see their brother's tattoo, and Bill was desperately trying to distract the twins, hoping to ensure that his wedding day would be as peaceful as possible.

Harry grinned at the antics of the brothers, as Ron gestured for him to join them. "So Harry, Gin-Gin said that you'd gotten a tattoo too," Charlie said.

"Nah, it was just a rumour. But your sister told the other girls that it was a Hungarian Horntail, and I'd gotten it on my chest," Harry said with a grin

Bill and Charlie frowned at him, Fred and George laughed and Ron rolled his eyes. Harry realized belatedly that he had probably just gotten himself into trouble with a pack of over-protective brothers. He gave them a weak grin, and gulped, slowly backing away and looking for a place to run.

Bill and Charlie grabbed him by his arms, backing him into a tree. Fred and George brandished their wands, and walked toward him with maniacal grins on their faces. Ron and Mr. Weasley just stood back, shaking their heads. "It was nice knowing you mate."

They all stood their like that for what felt to Harry like an hour, though it was probably only a minute or so. Then Fred and George collapsed to the ground, laughing like a pair of hyenas. Bill and Charlie loosened their grip on his arms, and clapped him on the shoulders. "Harry," Bill began. "We know that you and Gin were dating, and we know that you broke up with her to keep her safe. We think you're a git for doing that, but we know your heart was in the right place. Do us all a favour and get things fixed with her. I can't take too much more of the pair of you moping around here. Just keep in mind, that if you ever do something stupid like this again, we'll all be looking for you, if Ginny doesn't tear you from limb to limb first."

Harry looked at all of them, the realization that they actually wanted him to be with Ginny sinking in slowly. "Are you sure? I mean, I'm not exactly the safest- oof" Ron's elbow had connected with Harry's stomach, effectively cutting off the rest of his sentence.

"You git. I've told you, and now the rest of the family has told you. Get your skinny arse in there and beg my sister to take you back. You'll probably be running around here with some great slimy bats for awhile, but it will be worth it."

OoOoOoOo

The tents were set up, the food prepared and the Weasleys were ready. The guests started arriving at two-thirty. Harry, Percy, Fred and George acted as ushers, seating the guests as they arrived. So far, Harry hadn't noticed any real differences between Muggle weddings and Wizard weddings. The guests were still seated according to which family they belonged to. There was an aisle for the bride, groom and wedding party to walk down, ending at an altar, where the officiate would stand.

Harry nervously pulled his fringe down to cover his scar, but to no avail. Members of both the Weasley family and the Delacour families recognized him. He was forced to make small talk with every one he seated, much to his chagrin. Fred and George thought it was funny, and kept pretending to fawn over 'The Boy Who Lived'. Percy pursed his lips, but the corners of his mouth were twitching.

As the music started, the last of the guests were seated. Harry was about to take as seat toward the back of the tent, when George grabbed his sleeve, and frog marched him to where the rest of the immediate family and Hermione were seated.

Bill took his place at the altar, and the guests rose as one; a beautiful melody was wafting through the air. Ginny and Ron came down the aisle first, and Harry sucked in a quick breath. Ginny was wearing gold dress robes. Her shoulders were bare, with only a thin, gauzy shimmering gold shawl to cover them. The front of the dress was embroidered with hundreds of small, twinkling crystals that caught the light when ever she moved. Her hair was piled in loose ringlets on top of her head, and she had tiny golden butterfly hairpins that fluttered about. Ron looked dashing in his new black dress robes, and Harry was sure that he'd heard Hermione gasp at the sight of him.

Charlie and Gabrielle were next, wearing the same clothing that Ron and Ginny wore. Gabrielle smiled at Harry as she passed by. He gave her a grin, remembering the second task of the Triwizard tournament, and pulling her from the lake at Hogwarts.

Fleur came down the aisle, escorted by her father. She wore white dress robes cut in a similar fashion to Ginny and Gabrielle's. The crystals embroidered on her dress were clear and there were thousands of them, making it look as if the morning dew had kissed her gown. She carried a large bouquet of roses, daisies and lilies. She looked absolutely radiant, and Harry could see that more than one male in the crowd was affected by the beautiful Veela.

As Fleur reached the altar, the guests all sat down. The officiate was a small, balding man dressed in formal black robes. His glasses were perched precariously on his nose. He held a small book in one hand, and his wand in the other.

"Friends, family and loved ones, welcome to the Marriage Vow ceremony of William Arthur Weasley and Fleur Clémence Delacour."

Mrs. Weasley dabbed her handkerchief at her eyes as the officiate continued. "Marriage is a sacred vow between two people who have decided to share the rest of their lives together. The bonds that the Marriage Vow creates are nigh impossible to break. The couple Vow to each other their fidelity, love and trust. We're here today to see this young couple bind their lives together as one." The little man waved his wand, and his book floated in a stationary position.

"William and Fleur, please join hands." Fleur handed her bouquet to Gabrielle, and held both of Bill's large hands in hers. Another wave of the officiates wand cast a bright, white band wound its way around their joined hands. "Is it your wish Fleur to become one with this man?"

"Oui," Fleur replied in a clear strong voice.

A band of bright red wove its way around the white band.

"Is it your wish William to become one with this woman?"

"Yes," Bill said, watching a single tear make its way down his bride's face.

A golden band wove its way into the two bands around their hands. A white glow surrounded their hands, and the three bands braided themselves together, and tightened around the couple's hands.

The officiate continued, waving his wand in an intricate pattern above the joined hands of the couple in front of him. "Under the watchful eyes of the Gods and Merlin, your loved ones have witnessed this rite. May your lives be long and full of happiness. By the power given to me by the Ministry for Magic, I now pronounce you husband and wife. You may kiss your bride."

Bill leaned forward and kissed Fleur. As their lips touched, the band that was woven around their hands flashed once, and in its place were wedding bands on each of their ring fingers.

Harry nudged Hermione as the assembled crowd cheered for the new couple. "So what were the bands around their hands?"

"A Marriage Vow is similar in some respects to an Unbreakable Vow. The white of the band represents the trust between the couple. The red obviously represents their love, and the gold their fidelity."

"What did he mean when he said that 'it was nigh unbreakable'?"

"Just what he said. If a couple is married using the Marriage Vow, and for example, one spouse cheats on the other, the instant that the infidelity occurs, that person's wedding band is broken, symbolizing the breech of trust. From what I've read, in the original ceremony, there was actually a curse woven into the bands that caused immense pain for the party who broke the Vow. Modern ceremonies don't include the curse, but all a spouse has to do is show the broken ring, and the marriage is voided."

"So is it just cheating that causes the ring to break, or are there other things?"

"Well, anything that would break the trust between the spouses. If the wizard abuses the witch, thereby breaking her trust, the ring would break. Otherwise, the rings are impossible to destroy."

_'Well, that would be a big difference between Muggle weddings and Wizard weddings,'_ Harry mused to himself. The bridal party had already left the tent, and with a wave of Mr. Weasley's wand, the chairs were folding themselves up, and moving out of the way, as the tables that Mrs. Weasley was directing with her wand could be set up.

Harry made his way outside the tent, and immediately ran into Remus Lupin. The werewolf smiled at Harry, who gave the older man a quick hug. "How are you doing, Professor?"

"Harry, I haven't been your professor in almost four years now. Please call me Remus, or even Moony if you prefer."

"Moony it is," Harry said with a grin. "You got my letter okay then?"

"Yes I did, and I do want to talk to you about it. Is it possible for us to meet in a day or two to discuss it?"

"Sure, just name the date and time and I'll be there."

As the two men turned to walk back into the tent, a pink blur caught Harry's eye. Before he could react, he was sprawled out on the ground, and the sound of boisterous female laughter rang in his ears.

"Wotcher Harry! I'm sorry, I was trying to grab old Moony here, and tripped."

"Hi Tonks. I see you're as graceful as ever," Harry said as he got up and dusted himself off.

Remus grinned at the Auror as she blushed. "Yep, I'm still dead clumsy. Some things will never change."

Music had started up inside the tent, as Harry, Remus and Tonks made their way inside. The tables had all been set up, and the chairs had taken their places around them. Golden table cloths covered each table, which had a centrepiece of white and red roses. The tent had been elongated to accommodate the food tables, which carried an variety of foods, both traditional English and French fare. At one end of the tent, a band had set up, and were playing quiet music. At the other end of the tent, a bar had been set up. Fred and George were already standing their with glasses of Firewhiskey in their hands, chatting with two girls, who judging by their blond hair were some relation to Fleur.

A dance floor separated the rest of the tables from the tables set up for the families. As Harry entered the tent, he was pulled to the side by Ron, who directed him to the two tables that had been set up to hold the immediate Weasley family. "I've got to sit at the other table with Bill, but you can sit here with everyone else," Ron said with a look that plainly said he'd rather be sitting with Harry than with the happy couple.

OoOoOoOo

After the guests had eaten their fill (or in Ron's case, enough to fill several guests), the band introduced each couple from the wedding party. Ron was making pained faces at having to dance with Ginny. She retaliated by stepping on his toes as much as possible. Charlie and Gabrielle made an interesting pair, as she was very petite, and nearly engulfed by Charlie's large arms. Bill and Fleur had eyes only for each other during their first dance as a married couple.

After that dance, Ron slowly walked toward the table where Harry and Hermione were sitting. The two didn't notice his approach, since Hermione was telling Harry everything she'd read over the last week on Wizarding wedding traditions. Ron cleared his throat to get their attention. "Hermione, would you like to dance?"

A smile crossed Hermione's face, as she accepted Ron's hand and let him lead her toward the dance floor. Harry's eyes scanned the tent and found Ginny dancing with her father. He got up from his chair and made his way around the tent, stopping to talk to the guests that he knew. In addition to Remus and Tonks, most of the members of the Order were there. Professor McGonagall and Mad-Eye Moody were sitting at a table with Hagrid and Madame Maxime. Kingsley Shaklebolt was talking with Hestia Jones at the bar. Charlie, Fred and George were there as well, talking amongst themselves. Harry found a glass of amber liquid pushed into his hand by Charlie. "Go on mate, drink up before Mum sees you."

Harry took a sip of the liquid, coughing as the liquid burned its way down his throat. He shook his head and drank the rest of it, to the cheers of the twins. "Slow down there Harry, I know Mum will make you pay for it if you get pissed tonight." Harry chuckled at the twins, thinking to himself that he should ask Hermione if there was a sobering charm for later.

"So, Harrykins, where is Gin-Gin," Fred asked with a mischievous look in his eye

"She was dancing with your dad the last time I saw her."

George raised an eyebrow. "You'd best look again mate, 'cause that's not dad she's dancing with now."

Harry looked out at the dance floor, and the monster in his chest roared in indignation. Ginny was currently wrapped in the arms of a young man whom he didn't know. The guy bared a passing resemblance to Malfoy, which irritated Harry all the more. He none too gently put his glass down on the bar and strode out onto the dance floor, with cries of "Get 'em Harry!" following him. He made his way through the dancing couples, until he reached Ginny and the interloper.

"Excuse me, may I cut in?"

The blond man glanced at him, and Harry saw the familiar eye sweep that meant his scar had been noticed. The young man backed away without comment, and placed Ginny's hand in Harry's. She stared at him, a troubled look on her face. The two hadn't done more than exchange polite pleasantries since their fight in the orchard.

"Gin, can we talk?"

She nodded and laced her fingers through his. Harry led her out of the tent, and down the hill toward the pond. The sun was setting and a slight breeze was blowing, causing the tendrils of hair surrounding Ginny's face to dance across her cheeks.

Harry stopped at the edge of the pond, and conjured up a blanket for the two of them to sit on. The two of them sat facing each other, neither sure where to start.

"Ginny, why have you been avoiding me? I know you're mad, but I thought that after the row we'd had, we might be able to talk."

"I'm sorry. I know I should've come to you sooner, but I have to admit that besides being mad at you, you scared me just a little bit the other day."

Harry opened his mouth as if to protest. Ginny raised a finger to his lips to silence him. "Give me just a minute to explain." He nodded his acceptance, and she took a deep breath and continued.

"I knew that you cared about me. I don't think we would've started dating had you not. But, and please don't take this the wrong way, because of how closed off you are emotionally, I was never really sure how much you cared. I had thought that at some point, you'd admit how you felt about me. Then, we broke up." Ginny played with the hem of her dress for a moment, gathering her thoughts. She glanced at Harry, who gave her a slight smile, and she continued.

"I understood your reasoning for breaking up. Not that I agreed with you mind, but I did understand. And like I told you, I was angry that you'd taken away my choice to be with you. The thing that frightened me the most that afternoon was you. I never expected to hear you say that you love me. Ginny's voice broke, and it was all Harry could do not to draw her into his arms and comfort her. Instead, he grabbed her hand, and silently begged her to continue.

"I had always hoped of course, that you would love me, but to hear it from you with that much emotion, sort of scared me a bit. I realized then what you were fighting against. To love someone so deeply that you would want to give up if they were gone is a terrifying and wonderful thing. And to know that you feel that way about me is more than a bit humbling. I needed some time to process all of that and to get over my anger at the way we'd broken up and the reasons for it. Then with all the wedding to-do, we never really got a chance to talk after that. I'm so sorry Harry."

At this, Ginny completely broke down and cried. Harry pulled her onto his lap and wrapped his arms around her. He could feel the sobs wracking her body, and he did his best to comfort her. He thought that it was remarkable that this petite girl, who just barely came up to his chin, could cause these giant feelings in him. At that moment, nothing else mattered but her, and his desire to rid her of her pain. He gently rubbed her back, and whispered quite endearments in her ear. As her sobs quieted, he placed a kiss on her head.

"Gin, there's nothing to be sorry for. I'm a prat. I should never have broken it off with you. It's just hard for me to realize that no matter what, you'll be in danger. And what I said was the truth, I don't know if I'll be able to go on if you're not there. But I don't want to let Voldemort ruin what happiness I can have. I love you Gin, and if you'll take this git back as a boyfriend, you'll make me the happiest guy in the world."

Ginny raised her tear-stained face to his and smiled. Harry saw the love in her eyes, and the monster in his chest roared it approval. He slowly ducked his head down and captured her lips with his.

* * *

Author's Note: I borrowed several ideas from traditional handfastings to come up with Bill and Fleur's ceremony. I seriously doubt that their wedding would have many Muggle traditions, regardless of Mr. Weasley's fascination with them :D 


	4. Chapter 4

_Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of JK Rowling. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended._

**Chapter Four**

The wedding had gone off without a hitch, much to the relief of the Weasley family. The bride and groom were off on their honeymoon, and life settled back down to normal at the Burrow. Everyone was delighted with the fact that Harry and Ginny had gotten back together.

Harry was now fretting over a greater problem. He'd quickly realized that he was going to have to tell Ginny everything, and soon. She knew nothing of the prophecy, or of the Horcruxes. It was the latter that worried him the most. The diary that she'd spent most of her first year writing in had been one of the pieces of Voldemort's soul, and he knew she'd be terrified. He also knew she'd have questions that he just wouldn't have answers for.

A week and a half after the wedding, Harry had decided to talk to Ginny. He'd informed Ron and Hermione of his plans, and asked Hermione to compile all the information she had on Horcruxes, so that they could help answer the questions that Ginny would inevitably have.

Ginny was in her room, doing some of her summer homework when a knock sounded at the door. She giggled. "Come in Harry."

He opened the door and poked his head in. "How did you know it was me?"

"No one in this house ever knocks except you and Hermione. I know that she is with Ron right now, because I just heard them arguing outside the window. Therefore, you would be the only person left in the house who would knock."

Harry laughed and came the rest of the way into the bedroom. "Are you done yet?"

"Just about. I have a few more inches to write on my Transfiguration essay, but it can keep." She closed her books and stacked her homework on her desk. "What did you want to do?"

"Come fly with me," he said, offering his hand to her.

"Sure! It's too nice to be cooped up in here doing homework anyway," she said with a grin.

The two made their way down the stairs and out the door into the garden. They opened the door to the broom shed, and grabbed Harry's Firebolt. Ginny reached for her broom, but Harry stopped her. "We can both go on mine." Ginny smiled shyly at him, and left her broom in the shed. Harry straddled his broom, and helped Ginny climb on in front of him. He reached around her and grabbed the broomstick, and angled them toward the sky.

As always, when Harry flew, it seemed that all of his problems melted away with the wind. And being able to share that experience with Ginny only doubled his pleasure. He had a feeling that she felt the same about flying as he did. He started off their flight by taking a few slow laps around the paddock that the Weasley family used for their Quidditch games.

Ginny turned to him with an impish grin, her eyes sparkling in the afternoon sun. "Surely this broom can do better, can't it Harry?" The challenge in her voice was clear, and Harry grinned down at her, and took off. He shot up into the sky as far and as fast as he dared, mindful of the fact that there were Muggles nearby. Ginny squealed her delight, as he pushed them toward the ground in an unmistakable Wronski Feint. Even though Ginny had played Seeker for a season for the Gryffindor team, she'd never really mastered moves like the Feint, and Harry wanted to show her how it was done. They closed in on the ground at a mind-numbing pace, and only when they were ten feet from certain injury, did he pull the nose of the broom up, and shoot off toward the orchard.

They weaved their way in and out of the trees, scaring off a flock of birds in the process. The two were laid out on the broom as flat as they could to reduce their wind resistance, and Harry relished the fact that they could be so close together.

After a solid hour of flying, Harry finally touched down near the pond. He helped Ginny climb off the broom first, and then got off himself, and placed the Firebolt over his shoulder. Ginny grabbed his free hand and pulled him toward the bank of the pond. Harry sat down, and pulled Ginny down next to him so she was facing him. He'd been dreading this conversation, but knew that he had to tell her what was going on.

Ginny had noticed that Harry had sobered since they'd gotten to the pond, and was worried. She'd known that something was bothering him, but she wasn't sure what. A ribbon of dread wound its way into her stomach.

"Gin, there's some stuff I need to tell you. After you hear this, you'll understand why I broke up with you. As a matter of fact, after you hear all of this, you may want to break up with me." Ginny made a noise of protest, but Harry held up his hand to silence her. "It's bad Gin, and I won't blame you if you do want to break up, I just want you to know that."

"There was a prophecy made before I was born-"

"Didn't it get smashed in the Department of Mysteries?"

"Yeah, it did, but it didn't matter. Dumbledore was the person who originally heard the prophecy, and he showed it to me."

He then recited from memory the prophecy that had moulded his life from the moment of his birth:

_"The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord approaches ... Born to those who have thrice defied him, born as the seventh month dies ... And the Dark Lord will mark him as equal, but he will have power the Dark Lord knows not ... And either must die at the hand of the other for neither can live while the other survives."_

Ginny paled for a moment, and Harry waited for the tears, but none came. Instead, she took a calming breath and gave him a penetrating stare. "Well, I had kind of always suspected this. I mean, why else would he keep coming after you over and over again?"

Harry marvelled at the strength of the small girl in front of him. He truly admired the way she'd taken the practical approach to his future. "So is it safe for me to assume that Tom knows about the prophecy?"

"He knows part of it. Dumbledore was interviewing Trelawney for the Divination position when she gave the prophecy. Snape," he spat the name out as if he had a vile taste in his mouth, "overheard the first part of it, but was thrown out of the Hog's Head before he heard the second part. He's told the part that he'd heard to Voldemort. He and Pettigrew are the reasons my parents are dead."

Ginny had known about how Sirius Black had been framed by his former friend Peter Pettigrew. When the Potter family had gone under the Fidelus Charm for their safety, the original plan had been to have Sirius be their Secret Keeper. Instead, at the last minute, they switched and made Pettigrew the Secret Keeper. Pettigrew told Voldemort where the Potters were hiding. After the Potters had been killed, and Harry had been taken away by Hagrid, Sirius had gone to avenge his best friend's death. He'd cornered Pettigrew on a street, when Pettigrew yelled that Sirius had betrayed James and Lily, and then blew up the street, killing innocent Muggle bystanders. He'd cut off his finger and changed into his Animagus form, which was a rat, and escaped, making it look as though Sirius had committed the crime, in addition to betraying the Potters. Pettigrew had then lived the next twelve years as a rat, and had been first Percy's pet, and then Ron's. When Sirius had spotted 'Scabbers' in a photo from in The Daily Prophet, he'd known that his former friend would go after Harry, and broke out of Azkaban to rescue his godson.

Harry took a breath and continued. "There's other stuff you should know Gin. Remember all the meetings I was having with Dumbledore last year?" She nodded in reply. The ribbon of dread in her stomach had unfurled, and had started waving around. "Well, Voldemort had always bragged about how he'd become immortal. Well, Dumbledore had figured out how he did it, and was telling me all about it."

Ginny broke into a huge smile. "Well, then you'll be able to defeat him! If you know what he did to become immortal, then it can be undone!" Her face fell at the look on Harry's face. "He can be defeated, can't he?"

Harry sighed. "Yeah, he can, but I'm not sure how to do it. There are these things called Horcruxes, and that's what he's using to stay alive. You make a Horcrux by committing murder. When you murder, it splits your soul. Half of your soul can then be put into an object, turning it into a Horcrux. He made his first ones when he was our age."

Ginny shuddered, and Harry continued. "Dumbledore reckoned that he'd split his soul seven times. We know what some of the Horcruxes are, and two have been destroyed already."

Harry's face fell as he told her this. _'She's going to ask which ones have been destroyed, and I'm going to have to tell her she was chatting with a piece of Voldemort's soul for the better part of a year.'_

The ribbon in her stomach turned into a large banner, and began waving around wildly. She felt the bile rise into her throat, but knew she had to ask the question that had been left hanging. "Harry," she said in a quiet voice, "what are the Horcruxes that you know about?"

He gave her a sad smile. "There was a ring that had belonged to Voldemort's family. It had belonged to Slytherin. There is also a locket, that was also passed down from Slytherin. A cup that belonged to Helga Hufflepuff, and his snake Nagini. Dumbledore thinks he also found something that had belonged to either Ravenclaw or Gryffindor and turned it into a Horcrux as well."

Ginny had been counting as Harry listed off the items. "That's five. I'm assuming that Voldemort himself is the seventh Horcrux. What aren't you telling me Harry," she said in a low voice. She instinctively knew that she really didn't want to hear the answer to her question.

"The diary Gin," he whispered. "The diary was a Horcrux. It was one of the first ones he made."

Ginny very nearly fainted at Harry's whispered words. Tears had begun falling in a torrent down her face, and Harry pulled her into his lap to comfort her. She clutched at his t-shirt, holding on for dear life, and sobbed into his shoulder. "It's okay, Gin. That one is gone, I destroyed it."

"But what if a part of his soul was transferred to me while I was writing in the diary? What if I'm a Horcrux now?"

Harry felt as if someone had punched him. No, it couldn't happen& could it? Was it possible that Ginny could be a Horcrux? Was there a tiny bit of Voldemort's soul hiding within her now? Harry was rapidly recalling all of the conversations he'd had with Dumbledore over the last year, trying to disprove the possibility of Ginny being a Horcrux. _'Merlin, I can't think right now! Why did I have to tell her?'_

He tried to speak, but found it nearly impossible. He settled for merely holding Ginny, and trying to comfort her as best he could.

OoOoOoOo

It had been a week since Harry and Ginny's discussion by the pond. Neither had had the heart to tell Ron and Hermione about the possibility that Ginny was a Horcrux. Harry had wondered about the possibility of being a Horcrux himself, but he was sure that if he were, Dumbledore would've told him.

Lupin had owled him earlier in the week, asking if he could meet with Harry on the twenty-third of July to have their talk. Harry was a bit apprehensive. The letter Lupin had sent had mentioned interesting questions, and Harry wasn't quite sure he wanted to know what those questions were.

Just after lunch, Lupin Apparated to the Burrow, and greeted Harry at the gate. Lupin produced a Portkey, and Harry felt the familiar tug behind his navel, and with a thump, the two arrived in an alley near Charing Cross. After a bit of a walk, they found themselves in a Muggle park.

Harry and Remus made their way to a bench near a pond. Harry looked around and recognized that he was in St. James Park. They were at the eastern end of the park, near Duck Island. He gave Moony a wry grin; the irony of the park's name wasn't lost on him. "I thought that maybe this would be an appropriate place to meet. Less chance of being overheard here as well."

Lupin turned to Harry, and gave him a penetrating look. "How long have you been having these dreams about Sirius?"

"Off and on for a few weeks now. I think since just before we left Privet Drive. That's the first one I remember having anyway."

Lupin frowned. "What date did you leave?"

"The thirtieth, why?"

"Harry, this may sound& well, odd, but I've been having very similar dreams as well."

Harry looked intently at the man, trying to see if he was having him on. There was no amusement on Lupin's well worn face. "They're almost the same as yours. I'm in that room in the Department of Mysteries again, and I see him fighting with Bellatrix, and he falls, only very slowly. As he's falling, he's talking to me, but I can't hear him." Lupin looked at his hands, which were folded in his lap. "I wish to Merlin I could hear him," he said emphatically.

"Moony, how could we be having the same dreams? It just doesn't make any sense. I mean, it's been two years now, what could make the two of us dream like this?"

"I don't really know Harry. I've done a bit of research, but I'm afraid I haven't come up with any theories as to why this is happening. It's almost as if..."

"As if he's trying to reach us somehow," Harry finished.

"Yes, that's my thinking anyway."

Harry looked troubled for a moment. Everyone had always told him that Sirius was dead; that once someone went through the Veil, they were gone. That had always frustrated Harry. There was no proof that some who went beyond the Veil was dead. No one really knew what that room was for anyway. Hermione had combed through countless numbers of books looking for information on that particular room and the Veil, and could find nothing.

"Moony, how do we know for sure he's dead? I mean, Bellatrix's spell looked like a Stunner to me. So he would've been knocked out when he fell through there, but not dead. I just&" Harry ran a hand through his perpetually messy hair and sighed. He'd accepted the fact that Sirius was gone, but he wasn't entirely convinced that he was dead.

"I understand Harry, I really do. No matter how much we wish it weren't so, I really think Padfoot is gone for good."

Harry frowned and studied his feet. The two men sat there in companionable silence for a moment, each lost in his own thoughts of Sirius. Harry glanced at the man who'd been both his father and godfather's best friend. Moony still wore shabby robes, evidence of his lack of work. His prematurely greying hair, the lines on his face, and the numerous scars that were visible belied his Lycanthropic condition. Lupin had lived a hard life, but through it all had been loyal to those he cared for. Harry knew that Moony would never betray him.

He'd been wrestling with himself over asking for help in dealing with the Horcruxes. He wasn't sure if he, Ron, Hermione and Ginny would be able to find and destroy them all. And the fact that Ginny was possibly a Horcrux was weighing heavily on his mind. He had debated over whom to trust with all this information. He now realized exactly who it would be.

"Moony, I need your help."

"Of course Harry. You know that I will always help you."

Harry grimaced at him. "Don't commit yourself until I've told you what I need help with."

For the next two hours, Harry explained everything to Remus. He told him about the prophecy, the Horcruxes and even about the possibility that Ginny could be a Horcrux after her contact with the diary her first year.

Remus was ashen faced at the end of it all. He sighed and rubbed his face with his hands. "I knew you'd been working closely with Dumbledore last year, but I had no idea..." he let the end of the sentence trail off as the full weight of what Harry had told him sank in.

"Yeah. Moony, we need help. I don't think we'll be able to do it on our own."

Remus turned to face Harry. "Harry, I will do all that I can to help you. I'll go back to Grimmauld Place and see if there are any books there that might help us. I should probably move all of them anyway."

"I was wondering about that. Where is the Order meeting now? Snape knew about headquarters, so it can't be safe now."

"We've been meeting at Hogwarts. I went around with a certain elf friend of yours and made sure all the secret passages were sealed tight," Remus said with a chuckle. "Dobby is a very& loyal creature, isn't he?"

Harry grinned, a small laugh escaping him. "Yeah, if nothing else, Dobby is very loyal. Just don't let him try to save your life. He does more harm than good."

OoOoOoOo

Much to Harry's dismay, Mrs. Weasley had taken it upon herself to plan a huge party for Harry's seventeenth birthday. He found it embarrassing to have a fuss made over things involving him, with the exception of Quidditch. She'd sent out invitations to a few of Harry's classmates and professors, and of course, members of the Order. Mrs. Weasley had planned out the menu, and the Weasley boys were already planning out the pick-up Quidditch games for the afternoon. Charlie especially was looking forward to facing Harry in a game, since he was reputed to be an even better Seeker than Charlie.

The morning of Harry's birthday dawned warm and clear. Harry had just woken up from the sun streaming in Ron's bedroom window, when a loud bang startled him into a sitting position. Ron, Ginny, Hermione, Fred, George and Charlie came running into the room, ready to attack the birthday boy. Harry quickly grabbed his wand, rolled toward the wall and scrambled under his bed. With a grin, he began firing tickling charms at the invading redheads and Hermione. One after the other, they all dropped to the floor, rolling with laughter. Harry crawled out from under the bed roaring with laughter. Mrs. Weasley had run up the stairs at the loud bang, and stopped in the doorway.

She took in the sight before her; Harry standing in the middle of the room, a wide smile plastered to his face as he laughed, and her sons, daughter and their friend rolling around on the floor, unable to control their laughter as they were tickled by the charms Harry had hit them with. Molly Weasley's eyes twinkled in merriment, as she crossed the room and hugged her surrogate son. "Happy Birthday Harry dear. Why don't you come downstairs and get yourself some breakfast?"

"Mum... You... can't... leave... us... like... this," Fred choked out between laughs.

"Oh yes I can Fred Weasley. You lot deserve it too. You'll either have to remove the charm yourselves, or wait until it wears off."

Mrs. Weasley turned and went out the door to finish getting breakfast on the table. Harry waved his wand and the charm was lifted from Ginny. "Mate...," Ron said, still gasping from laughter. "You... gonna... help... us... too?"

Harry gave Ron an evil grin. "Nope. I got the red head I wanted. You'll just have to get Hermione to help you." With that, Harry took Ginny's hand and walked downstairs to get breakfast.

OoOoOoOo

After breakfast, Mr. Weasley was going to take Harry and Ron to the Ministry to test for their Apparition licences. Lupin arrived just before they finished their meal; he would be going with them as well. Ron had turned a shade of pale green; he'd failed his test the first time by leaving an eyebrow behind.

The four men Flooed to the Atrium in the Ministry. It looked pretty much the same as it had when Harry had been there in his fifth year. The only notable difference were the golden statues that used to make up the Fountain of Magical Brethren. The fountain was still there, but the statues hadn't been replaced.

The quartet made their way to the gates at the end of the hall, and presented their wands to the security wizard there. Eric Munch had taken Harry's wand last, and his eyebrows shot up when he realized who owned the wand that he was currently registering. He quickly finished what he was doing, and gave Harry a significant look. The gates opened and the four quickly headed down the hallway to the lifts. Once there, Mr. Weasley pushed the button to take them to level six, where the Apparition Test Centre was located. Mr. Weasley and Remus glanced at each other, which didn't go unnoticed by Harry.

"Do you think we're going to have a problem," he asked quietly.

"I think it's possible that Munch has probably informed the Minister you are here. No doubt Scrimgeour knew you'd been in to get your license and made it known that he wanted to know the minute you arrived," Mr. Weasley replied.

Harry rolled his eyes, and Remus chuckled. "Minister Scrimgeour is nothing if not persistent."

The lift arrived at level six, and Harry, Ron, Remus and Mr. Weasley exited the car, and headed down the hallway to the Apparition Test Centre. They entered a comfortable waiting room, and took their seats. There were two sets of bolted together chairs, each with three seats, on opposite sides of the room. There was a wilted plant in one corner, and a reception desk in the other. The witch behind the desk looked as if she wished she were anywhere but her current location. The word 'bored' immediately popped into Harry's mind as he watched her shuffle through the paperwork on her desk.

Ron and Harry took seats on one side of the room, and Mr. Weasley and Lupin sat on the other side. Harry picked up a battered old copy of Quidditch Today, and thumbed through it, noticing that there was an extensive article on Viktor Krum and the battle going on between the Vrasta Vultures and the Transylvanian teams as to who was going to get the star Seeker on their team. Both teams were involved in a bidding war over the young Bulgarian, as they both desperately needed starting Seekers on their teams. Harry made a mental note to ask Hermione about this, since she still corresponded with Krum on a semi-regular basis, much to Ron's dismay. He quietly closed the issue, and surreptitiously placed it under the stack of magazines on the table, knowing that if his best friend saw it, he'd been in for a full afternoon of Krum-bashing and then the rowing that would inevitably follow between Ron and Hermione.

He found a more current issue of _Which Broomstick_, and learned that a new prototype model of the Firebolt, the Firebolt Blast, would be released in the next year. As he sat looking at the specs for the broom, he didn't notice when the witch at the desk called his name. Ron nudged him with his elbow to get his attention.

"Mr. Potter, it's time for your test."

Harry handed the broom magazine to Ron, who's eyes widened at the Firebolt prototype, and went up to the desk. "Mr. Potter, I'll need you to fill out this paperwork first."

Harry looked at the form the witch was handing him. It asked for his full name, birth date and place of residence. Harry supposed this was all needed for his actual license, similar to Muggle driver's licenses, but he was at a loss. He wasn't sure what to put down as his place of residence. He no longer wanted to call Privet Drive home, and while Sirius had left Grimmauld Place to him, it was still under the Fidelus Charm, so he couldn't use that address. "Um, Mr. Weasley?"

The older man looked up and noted Harry's troubled expression. "What's wrong? Is there something off with the paperwork?"

"No, not really. I just don't know what I should put down as my address. I mean..."

Mr. Weasley laughed. "Put the Burrow down of course. You know you'll always have a home with us Harry," he said with a warm smile.

"Thanks Mr. Weasley."

Harry filled out the paperwork, and gave it back to the witch. She looked it over, gave a glance at Harry's scar, and rose from her desk. "Mr. Potter, if you'll follow me, I will take you to Mr. Twycross. He will be conducting your exam today."

Harry was familiar with Wilkie Twycross. He'd been the Ministry instructor that had been at Hogwarts to teach the sixth years Apparition. Pleased that he would at least know the person who was testing him, Harry followed the witch into the next room.

"Mr. Potter, good to see you again," Twycross said as he shook Harry's hand. The room was rather large, and was set up to look like Diagon Alley. The two were standing in front of the entrance to the Alley, where one emerged from The Leakey Cauldron.

"Now Mr. Potter, short distance first. I want you to Apparate from where we're standing to right in front of Quality Quidditch Supplies."

Harry closed his eyes and pictured the front of the store. He took a step, and felt the familiar sensation of being squeezed through a narrow tube, and heard a pop. When he opened his eyes, he was right in front of the door to Quality Quidditch Supplies. He was met there by a witch who gave him a through examination to make sure all appendages were intact. After giving him a look-over, he was told to Apparate back to the examiner.

"Splendid Mr. Potter. Now, to go for a bit more distance, I want you to Apparate to the front of Ollivander's."

Once again, Harry closed his eyes and pictured the area he'd been told to go to. Once again, after a pop, he was met by the same witch who did the same examination. In short order, he was told to Apparate back to Mr. Twycross.

"Oh excellent Mr. Potter. You've passed with flying colours," the small man said as he filled out some paper work. Twycross signed his name with a flourish, and handed Harry the results of his test. "Please go back out to the waiting area. Mrs. Deverill will get your license for you."

Harry grinned widely, and entered the office. He gave the paper to the witch at the desk. Ron, who had just finished filling out his paperwork, gave him a sickly smile and entered the testing area. Mrs. Deverill examined Harry's paper, stamped it and waved her wand over the paper. It copied itself and then both copies shrank down to wallet-sized cards. "Here you are Mr. Potter, and congratulations on passing your Apparition test."

Remus smiled at his best friend's godson. "Well done, Harry. I knew you could do it."

OoOoOoOo

Ron had passed his test, and gotten his license. His eyebrows had made the trip down the street with him this time. As the four men were headed for the lift to go back to the Atrium, a small commotion met their ears. Harry covertly withdrew his wand from his pocket, unsure of what was going on. The Minister for Magic himself emerged from the lifts, along with a small group of people. Harry assumed they were his assistants, since Percy Weasley was among them. He gave Harry an apologetic smile as the group closed in on them.

"Ah, Mr. Potter. I'd like to have a word, if you don't mind," said Scrimgeour as he grabbed Harry's elbow and steered him down the hall, away from the small crowd at the lifts. Harry met Moony's eyes, handed him his wand, and gave him a quick nod and walked with the Minister.

"Here for your Apparition test I see."

"Yes I am Minister. What did you want to talk to me about?"

"Right to the point as usual Potter. You know what I want. You are the Wizarding world's hope right now. I was hoping that we could come to some sort of agreement and have you stand on the side of the Ministry in this war."

Harry narrowed his eyes. "What sort of agreement did you have in mind Mr. Scrimgeour?"

"As I said before, all I want you to do is to visit the Ministry from time to time, and make a few statements to the press on how you feel that we're doing with the war effort."

"That covers part of the agreement. What's the other part that you're not mentioning?"

The older man stared at Harry in a calculating manner. "It would be a shame for you to walk out of here today without your Apparition licence Mr. Potter."

Harry smirked at Scrimgeour and removed his brand new license from his pocket. "It would, except for the fact that I've already taken the test, Minister. Anything else? Have you released Stan Shunpike yet?"

Scrimgeour lost his composure for only a moment, then pressed on. "Mr. Potter, do you honestly believe that I can't have your license revoked? I am, after all the Minister for Magic."

Harry shrugged nonchalantly, but inside he was quickly filling with rage. He reined his anger in, and played the Minister's little game. "You could have it revoked. And I could also Floo directly to the offices of the _Daily Prophet _from here, and tell them that you took my license from me because I wouldn't play your silly political games. There is a war going on Minister, and I won't endorse a Ministry that can't do the job its supposed to do."

"Mr. Potter, do you realize how very difficult I could make life for you?" Scrimgeour had lost all semblance of keeping his temper. Harry noticed with vague amusement that a tic had developed just under the Minister's left eye.

"I'm sure you could Minister. And, as I said, I'm sure I could inform Rita Skeeter, or any reporter at the _Prophet_ of the strong arm tactics that you're trying to use against me today. Then we'll see what the public has to say about your treatment of 'The Chosen One'."

With that, Harry turned on his heel and left the Minister fuming behind him. He heard a cry of "Duck," and dove to the floor. A curse went zinging over his head. It was so close, he could hear it sizzling as it went by. One of the Minister's unfortunate assistants caught the full brunt of the Stunner meant for Harry, and collapsed to the floor. The uproar caused the offices on either side of the hallway to empty, where the stunned Ministry workers saw Harry Potter lying on the floor, unarmed and Minister Scrimgeour in a towering rage with his wand drawn. The unconscious aide had been pulled aside to keep him from being injured further.

An alarm went off somewhere in the building, and four Aurors came out of the Floo Registry office. Kingsley Shaklebolt was in the lead, followed closely by Tonks. "Minister, please hand me your wand," Shaklebolt said with a firm voice.

"Harry Potter just tried to curse me. I was defending myself."

Cursing filled the hall for a moment until Kingsley yelled to get some control over the situation. "ENOUGH," he roared. "Mr. Potter, your wand please."

"I don't have it," Harry said as he stood up.

"Where is your wand Mr. Potter?"

"Remus Lupin has it."

Kingsley turned to Lupin and held out his hand. "May I see Mr. Potter's wand?"

Remus withdrew Harry's wand from his pocket and handed it to the Auror. A quick Priori Incantatem showed that the last spell performed by Harry's wand was the Finite Incantatem Harry had cast on Ginny that morning. The same spell used on the Minister's wand revealed the Stunner he'd just shot at Harry.

The Aurors took statements from the Harry, Ron, Remus and Mr. Weasley, and let them leave. The Minister was taken down to Auror headquarters to give a full statement. "You will be able to press charges if you wish Mr. Potter. An attack on an unarmed man is cause for imprisonment," Kingsley told him.

"What will happen if I do press charges? Will he be removed from his position as Minister?"

"Yes."

Harry mulled it over. As much as he detested Scrimgeour, it wouldn't do the Wizarding world any good to have their Minister removed from office. It would give Voldemort the perfect opportunity to place someone in a position of power, and give him control of the government. "I don't think I'm going to press charges at this time. I'm afraid that the Minister and I had a bit of a disagreement, which caused him to lose his temper. I'm sure that he didn't wish to cause me any harm," Harry said with a slight smirk.

Ron started to say something, but was hushed by his father. Remus raised an eyebrow at him, and Percy just grinned. Kingsley stared at him for a moment, the nodded. "If you're sure Mr. Potter, then you and your friends are free to go."

* * *

Author's Note: I won't be able to update next week at all. I will have houseguests for the entire week :) Chapter 5 will be up most likely at the beginning of April. Let me know what you think! 


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